


Nothing Would Stop You

by egosoffire



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Loss of Limbs, M/M, Permanent Injury, Recovery, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2019-03-08 19:42:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13465206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/egosoffire/pseuds/egosoffire
Summary: Poe comes out of a fight with the Knights of Ren with life changing wounds, but Ben is there and nothing will stop him.





	Nothing Would Stop You

The burns covered a large area of Poe’s neck and left shoulder. They spread all the way down his back, long and already scarring. The flesh was raw, singed and Poe looked up with eyes glazed over by drugs. “Ben…” he slurred. “Hey there, Bennie.” 

Poe sought out Ben’s hand and squeezed it tightly with his left hand. His other hand, the right one, was no more. In fact, neither was his entire right arm. It had been severed at the elbow, a clean cut with a poorly made lightsaber.

“How do you feel?” he asked, his voice raw with emotion. 

None of them had known how strong the Knights had become. None of them had begun to fathom what they were capable of. Not even Ben, the one who had created them, had imagined the power, the fuse that had been lit when he deflected. 

“Kind of terrible,” Poe laughed out. He waved his right arm, nothing more than a stump. “I know it ended up working for Luke Skywalker, but this missing body part thing kind of...sucks.” 

“His hand was a relic,” Ben replied wearily. He knew that nothing could make this better, but he was at least trying to act like he wasn’t on the verge of collapse. Poe needed his strength. “Your new arm is going to be the best in the galaxy.”

Poe raised an eyebrow at that and coughed on a laugh. “Best arm in the galaxy,” he said with a cheesy, loopy grin. “I like the sound of that.” 

“I’m sorry…” 

The words came from Ben before he’d even realized he’d spoken them. He rubbed his fingers over the back of Poe’s hand. He couldn’t help the guilt. There was no way that he would ever be able to fully repent for all he had done and this was just another blemish on his destroyed soul. Was there any chance of him coming out of this alive? 

“Why are you sorry?” Poe asked. “I knew what I was getting into with this fight.”

“I made them who they are,” Ben whispered, the tears burning his eyes. “I was the one who taught them how to tap into the Dark. I taught them to use that anger and pain within them and harness it to do...whatever it took. I made them the force that took you down.”

Poe sighed and closed his eyes. 

“Ben,” he croaked, coughing again. “You always talk about how you have to let go of the past. Well, you can’t change what you were or what you did. You can only control who you are right now.” 

“You should sleep.” 

“I probably should,” Poe agreed groggily. “My head feels like it weighs about a thousand pounds. Will you stay with me if I fall asleep?” 

“Of course.”

With that reassurance, Poe slowly drifted off to sleep. Ben knew that the medics might ask him to move soon, but he doubted they’d be able to pry him away. If worse came to worse, well, they couldn’t grudge him a minor use of The Force to influence them to leave him be. 

He watched Poe as he slept. Words honestly weren’t enough to express how deeply he loved the man in front of him. They had been young lovers once, teenagers who saw the stars in each other’s eyes. Now, they were older, battle scarred and Ben had somehow come out of the deepest evil possible. He was a murderer, a traitor and often hated himself, yet Poe loved him. Poe, of the purest heart in the stars, still loved him. 

Poe, sweet Poe. There was something beautiful about the man’s soul, his entire essence. He had been fighting for what was right since he was a child, and his resolve never wavered. 

It was a long night. Ben was surprised to be left alone, but he figured that some of the others might have been involved with that. Even those who did not forgive him knew enough to give him peace; and in spite of Poe’s grievous injuries, there was a sort of peace that passed in the night as Ben sat by his bed.

Poe woke up sporadically over the next few days. During one of those times, drugs clouding his eyes, he smiled at Ben and laughed aloud.

“This reminds me of something my father told me about my mother,” Poe said in a groggy, detached voice. 

“Does it?” 

“Mhm!” Poe insisted brightly. “He said that nothing could separate them. He said he would always find her, no matter what happened.”

“And that reminds you of this?” 

“Yeah, it does,” Poe rambled thoughtfully, looking up at him. “I thought I’d lost you forever, you know that? I always felt like there was nothing I could do. I felt like I’d lost you forever...and yet I found my way back to you. Then...then I thought I was going to die in that battle.” 

“You, die?” Ben asked, trying to keep the tremor out of his voice. “That is unthought of. You’re too stubborn to die. Didn’t think it was going to happen for a second.” 

“Well, I did.” Poe’s delirious voice became suddenly grim. “I was sure that I was going to die there. Then, I found you again. I found you and I made it out of there. I think I’m always meant to find you…” 

Ben sighed and then leaned over, pressing a kiss to Poe’s cheek. He was careful of the burns, wrapped tightly as they were slowly being treated. 

“You and I will always find each other,” he agreed.

It was almost a month after the attack that Poe was fitted for the prosthetic. Ben had pulled a few strings and helped the Resistance in the process of getting it’s best pilot the very best. 

Poe had trouble with it, at first. It was heavily advanced and had been surgically fused to his nerve endings, but there was still a large learning curve. He flexed the hand, that looked almost as real as a flesh and blood one. 

“This is so weird,” he murmured, looking up and meeting Ben’s eyes. He managed a halfhearted wave, that looked like flopping his hand around from side to side. “Okay, that didn’t look nearly as smooth as I’d envisioned it looking.” 

“Looks good on you,” Ben murmured, trying to make himself as small as he could. They weren’t alone in the room and he hated the attention. 

“It’s going to take some time to adjust to it,” the medic at Poe’s side said quietly. Her droid chirped in affirmation. “You’ll adjust quickly, though, Commander. It’s top of the line.”

“Can I still fly?” Poe asked.

“Definitely,” she said warmly. “Nothing would stop you, would it.” 

Poe met Ben’s eyes and even though he looked exhausted, worn down, he smiled. “Absolutely nothing,” he said with no apology in his voice.

“Nothing,” Ben repeated.


End file.
